What to do if your dog has worms?

April 13, 2012

Since many worms that infect dogs can also infect humans, it is important to take care of worms in the environment before they ever get to you or your dog. You need to remove your dog’s droppings from the lawn weekly so the worms do not have a place to get established. With the fresh droppings lying around, the worms will get into it and begin to grow. If you or your dog comes in contact with them they will infest you in short order. This will take a huge step toward stopping worms before they can even start to cause any problems.

It is not hard or expensive to treat and get rid of worms. These treatments often do not cause the dog any discomfort at all. When the vet gives you the deworming medication, be sure to use it as they instruct. Misuse can waste the medication at best and be harmful to your dog at worst. If the treatment is not used right, the worms may become resistant to the medication and be much harder to get rid of. This makes the medication much less effective in stopping the worms. This will make it hard for the vet to decide how to best proceed in getting rid of your dog’s worms.

Heartworm treatment is the exception to the above rule. It can be very hard and dangerous to get rid of an adult heartworm. Even the newer medications are not as useful or effective as treatments for other worms. The best way to keep a dog safe from heartworm is to prevent them from taking hold in the first place. A treatment in the form of a snack like pill will be very effective in keeping heartworm out of your dog. This pill is to be given every month year around to ensure the best protection possible.